Two Ways, One Choice
by scarlet phlame
Summary: Ianto Jones knew that if Jack were to pick Gwen or him, he would choose Gwen. (If only he could.) But such a choice was never brought up, until an alien held them hostage and told the famous Captain to make a decision.


Two Ways, One Choice

AN: This is meant to be a oneshot... but I'm probably gonna do extra chapters from Jack's POV and Gwen's POV... maybe. This is from Ianto's POV... Enjoy!

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It was raining.

A heavy downcast over Cardiff hung over the Torchwood team's heads. The mute brine of rain bleeding from the clouds clung to the seams of Ianto's suit jacket as the trio made their way towards the Rift disturbance.

The air was chilled, and freezing to his touch as he stepped inside the building, warily glancing around. The floor was a mess of slivers of broken glass, his feet crushing the jagged edges.

He knelt down to better examine the floor, as Gwen lifted up a scanner, the slightly-sonic blue light humming in the air. Silhouette bobbing against the streaking patterns of light, Ianto watched as Jack knelt over and picked up a piece of shattered glass, examining the pattern.

"There's traces of alien activity levels upstairs," Gwen chirped.

"Smashed from the inside," Jack speculated. Ianto mulled this over for a moment. "I'm guessing someone stormed inside, then shot all the glass out."

"Might be possible, if this weren't one of the most secure buildings in Cardiff, sir," Ianto countered.

Jack shrugged and rose slowly, glancing around the dilapidated building. "It's been completely destroyed," he noted, rather casually.

A piercing scream drafted through the room, and, within seconds, both Ianto and Jack had holstered their guns, Gwen brandishing the scanner upwards menacingly, as if it were a lethal weapon and not a harmless scanner.

"Came from upstairs," spoke Ianto, and he'd barely just finished his sentence when something _wrapped_ itself around his waist. Letting out a startled yell, he gripped tightly onto his gun. An unspecified, slimy tendril of God knew what snaked up his wrist and wrested the metal weapon from his grip. It hit the floor with a heavy _clang_, and when Gwen let out a shriek from next to him, he realised it'd gotten her, too.

Around them, dark curls of smoke wafted in the air, hovering for a split second before transforming into a dark figure, clad in a black-and-white checkered hat and a baclava.

"What?" he trilled.

A dark tentacle wormed its way over his mouth, and he let out a pathetic moan, his eyes widening as it lowered to his neck and coiled around his throat.

"Let them go!" he heard Jack bark.

The creature- whatever it was- let out a guttural chuckle. "Or what?"

"Or I'll shoot!" Jack roared.

"Shoot me?" the creature howled with laughter. He eyed it, disgusted, as its mouth opened and floods of dark fluid flooded from its mouth and dribbled down his shirt. Disgusted, he squeezed his eyes shut. "You pull that trigger, dear, and I'll turn myself into stone!"

"Shapeshifter," snarled Jack. "But change yourself into a rock, I'm not sure you'll be able to change back, will you?"

"Change myself into a rock, dear, and both your lovers die. I doubt you want that, dear," the creature chortled.

"What do you want?" Jack uttered. Ianto let out another moan - this one of fear, not of pain - and pleadingly glanced at Jack.

"I want to destroy you, Captain Jack Harkness," the creature giggled. "I want you to choose. I will kill one of them. Tell me, which one will die, and which will walk away, unharmed?"

Gwen let out a little sob next to him. Ianto stole a glance at Jack- his captain, his lover, and his boyfriend- and then he knew, just by the way he looked at him. He knew he was going to die.

Wasn't he? Would Jack really choose him over Gwen? He would die here, because if the Captain had to choose someone to live, he'd choose Gwen. He loved Jack, yes... but he knew his feelings weren't reciprocated.

He closed his eyes, hoping for a quick death, the afterimage of those piercing, bared blue eyes staring back at him through the darkness.

_Don't_

And then, the world behind him exploded.

One minute, he was encased in the creature's grip, the next, he was blown forward with all the power of an explosion, cheek grazing a shard of glass as he flew onto the glass-ridden floor. Vaguely, he felt arms around him, helping him up.

Jack's arms.

He let out a hiccuping cough, hyperventilating as he slowly sat up, glass grinding underneath his weight.

"You okay?" Jack rasped. All he could manage was a slight bob of his head. _Yes_.

_No_

The immortal helped him stand, swiping the black liquid off his shoulders with a few brushes of his hand. "Are you sure?" he asked, genuine concern flooding his voice, and Ianto nodded again, a little more firmly, this time, slightly situated by the bare emotion he saw in Jack's eyes.

"Yeah," he said, but he didn't mean it. "You know me. I'm always fine."

Jack sent him a worried glance. "I'm going to go check on Gwen, okay?"

_Of course_

"Yeah, okay," Ianto responded. Jack placed a kiss onto his forehead, and then stumbled back into the rubble. The Welshman watched him go with detached exhaustion, then hobbled over to the entryway, where a clump of UNIT soldiers was picking through the mess.

"Saved by UNIT," he mumbled, grimly, before hearing Jack's shout. He turned, watched them load into a UNIT emergency help van, and then did the same, still glancing back at the mess behind them.

_Don't_


End file.
